The Dillinger Escape Plan

I don't think it really matters what kind of music you listen to, this fact remains: The Dillinger Escape Plan put on one of the most kinetic and enthralling shows out there. While they've calmed down since their days of fire-breathing and pyrotechnics, DEP's live show is still nothing short of a spectacle to behold.

Photographer's Notes:

Prior to the show, The Dillinger Escape Plan's publicist emailed out a release that started with the following warning:

DISCLAIMER: With fire, flying bodies, swinging guitars and more, someone WILL get hurt at this show.
It might be you. More likely, it will be a member of the band.

Attend at your own risk.

I think the last sentence reads pretty accurately. While no one was injured at the show I covered, I think that was more of a testament to the band's performance chops than any lack of real danger. DEP are professionals.

Regardless of non-injury, I will say this: You are probably not ready to photograph The Dillinger Escape Plan.

For me, Dillinger are just one of those bands that are such a kinetic force that there's hardly any preparation one can do before their show, regardless of experience. I think you just have to stay calm, try not to embarrass yourself with a bodily discharge when frontman Greg Puciato lunges toward you, and go zen.

At any given time during the show, there's a very high likelihood that one of the band members is climbing on an amp or part of the stage rigging. And when no one is climbing, DEP are probably playing some form of musical chairs that involves standing on monitors or their two risers. Or maybe they're just spazzing out, as in the second photo in this set of guitarist Jeff Tuttle.

On top of all this movement, stack on spastic lighting with strobe lights and dim washes, and you've got a nice, juicy challenge on your hands.

My approach to all this madness was to simplify. And by simplify, I mean rig up two tungsten-gelled speedlights for cross lighting.

The Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 and Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 did the heavy lifting for this show. Unlike most of the concert I photograph, I used only one body for this show, the Nikon D3. I find it easier to switch lenses than to change the commander flash between two bodies.

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Another great set. Flash was obviously allowed. Was the permission granted from the band or the venue? I’m always intrigued when you shoot shows with flash since I have never shot a legit show where flash was allowed. A little bit of extra light can really make a difference. I could’ve used some last week when I shot Nitzer Ebb.

Thanks for the kind words. With smaller club shows like this where I have talked to the band and can shoot the whole show (and have the option/luxury of flash), it’s always an entirely different world compared to arena/amphitheather shows. To start with, the stage is only four feet tall or so, which is a very nice start!

Even having photographed Dillinger a few years ago, I was still in shock for the first few seconds as these guys took the stage. They really came out on the attack.

Regarding flash, my shutter speeds were actually rather low for this show, due to the ambient light. If I would have used a higher shutter speed, it would have killed too much of the stage lighting. So, I was probably around 1/10 to 1/30 for most of these shots. Thanks for the comment.

Hey Todd. You really do take incredible photographs.
Quick question. Do you focus manually when shooting concerts, or do you use autofocus?
I for one find it hard to manually focus when I’m shooting shows because of all the movement going on, but often the autofocus doesn’t give me the results I’m looking for. Just curious as to what you do. Thanks.

Thanks for the comment. Regarding your question on autofocus, I generally use continuous AF (AF-C) on my Nikons. If the light is very, very low and I’m using prime lenses, I will switch to AF-S, since I find the older primes do better with this setting.

Thanks for the comment. Yeah, DEP is a fantastic band to photograph. I owe my favorite jump shot to Ben, back when they opened for Killswitch Engage.

Yeah, I’ve seen a ton of photos from this tour where the crowd was right up to the stage. Though I had planned on shooting anyway if I had to crowd-shoot the show, I was personally happy to see a barricade up.

Thanks for the comment. I wasn’t really in any bodily hard – at least I didn’t feel that way. There weren’t too many crowd surfers during this set (though there were some), so in that regard things were pretty calm.

Nah, the guys in Dillinger don’t mess with photographers, and while Greg Puciato was up front and going nuts most of the time, I didn’t feel like I was going to get knocked at any point. The closest I came to getting kicked was probably when Ben Weinman was sitting on one of the overturned monitors and I went in close with the 14-24mm.

Dillinger are, and always will be my favourite band, and no one is ready to photograph them. They are just brutal in their stage presence and there is nothing else like them out there. I applaud you for these shots, and somehow capturing greg and ben still.

Thanks for the comment. Dillinger are berserkers. Definitely one of the toughest but most rewarding bands to shoot. Looking forward to when these guys tour again – if nothing else, they’ll be on Warped Tour this year kicking butt.

hey todd.
really like your work there :)
you said its pretty dangerous to shoot them. well… i agree, shot them last weekend in bratislava and jesus…. it was the hardest shoot ever…. strobo, moshpit (they dont have a luxury like photopit), stagedive…. just everything.
And i tell you what: it was the best shoot ever. So great performances. I dont even care that my meter was off all the time, that it was dark like a lenscap from time to time,that the pics are noisy and that my cam had some blood on it (it wasnt mine though). It was just f-ing awesome.
So since i enjoyed your pics so much (and want to see more :) )
maybe you are interessted how things turned out in Randal Club in Slovakia.http://www.flickr.com/photos/julezhaze/sets/72157625086979347/
Keep up your great work.
jules out

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For over a decade, ishootshows.com has been the best source for music photography and learning how to shoot concerts. Founded in 2007 by NYC music photographer Todd Owyoung, features over 1,100 articles ranging from lenses and DSLRs to use for music photography, to concert coverage, and advanced technique for anyone wanting to learn how to get into music photography.

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